An alarmingly high number of Latina teens in New York have tried to commit suicide, and city officials want to know why.”It’s a startling problem,” said Julissa Ferraras, head of the City Council Committee on Women’s Issues, which is holding a hearing on the issue Monday.Nearly 15% of Hispanic teens surveyed in 2009 attempted suicide in the previous year – compared with 10% of all city high school girls, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.It’s part of a national crisis: 11% of Hispanic girls across the country admitted a suicide attempt. But New York’s higher rates – particularly in Brooklyn, with a 21% rate – are causing concern.”They don’t have high rates of suicide in their mother countries, so what is happening here?” said Rosa Gil, who runs the program Life is Precious for suicidal Hispanic girls in Brooklyn and the Bronx.She blames a disconnect between Hispanic teens and their moms, who are often single immigrants working several jobs with no community support.”The mothers say, ‘No, no, I didn’t date boys, I didn’t stay out late,’ and the daughter wants to behave like an American girl.”The conflicts escalate, and the adolescents feel like there is a bleak life ahead for them,” said Gil.That was the scenario for a 14-year-old Brooklyn girl who cut her wrists so deeply two years ago her mother took her to a psychiatric hospital.”I thought I’d be better off dead. I just wanted the loneliness to go away,” she told the Daily News, asking that her name not be used.She said she battled with her Dominican mom over her bad grades, and her dad rarely visited. Other Latinas also sneered at her baggy clothes.A Bronx 14-year-old said her suicidal tendencies were rooted in her relationship with her mom, a Mexican native who harped on her clothes, friends and music.A Brooklyn teen from Puerto Rico said a bad breakup with her boyfriend made her want to die and scribble “I want to disappear” in her notebook.Experts fear a taboo against counseling in immigrant communities stops troubled teens and overwhelmed parents from getting help.”It’s much more acceptable to seek help in New York City, but it takes time to translate among immigrants,” said Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.klucadamo@nydailynews.com